Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes (typically lasting 20 to 40 seconds) and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Sleep apnea results from a partial-to-complete blockage of a subject's airway. Increased air speed through the airway causes an increase in dynamic pressure and a corresponding drop in static pressure. The decreased static pressure can in some instances draw back the lower jaw and tongue and thereby block the airway. This blockage can increase to the point of becoming complete, which at least temporarily interrupts breathing.
There are a variety of factors that contribute to sleep apnea. One factor is the presence of a narrow maxilla and/or mandible in a patient. Maxillary constriction may increase nasal resistance and alter the tongue posture, leading to narrowing of the retroglossal airway. Constriction of the maxilla and/or the mandible generally reduces intraoral air volume and tends to force the tongue back into the posterior airway space, leading to obstructive sleep apnea during sleep.
Orthodontics is a field of dentistry which focuses on the repositioning of a patient's teeth and jaws for aesthetic or other reasons, for example due to the “overcrowding” of a patient's teeth. Orthodontic methods may result in the expansion of a patient's jaw, which provides more room for overcrowded teeth, for example. For patients suffering from sleep apnea, such expansion of the jaw can alleviate sleep apnea, which is exacerbated by maxillary constriction.
Orthodontic methods typically require a subject to make continuous use of an orthodontic appliance for a period of time in order to achieve results. The appliance might consist of “braces,” comprising a variety of appliances such as brackets, archwires, and rubber bands, or alternatively may consist of plastic trays worn over a subject's teeth. The use of such appliances precludes the concurrent use of currently available oral appliances for treating sleep apnea. There remains a need therefore for improved devices and methods for treating sleep apnea in users of orthodontic appliances who experience sleep apnea.